Ceramic art

The area of ceramic art is said to originate from pottery art. This is because ceramic art involves the creation of tiles, tableware and other objects from clay and its related material. In the art world, ceramic art is more concerned with the expression of the artist through the use of pottery as the main technique while some artists have been known to apply abstraction into this art form. However, it must be noted that ceramic art deals very much with the area of tableware which would include the creation of art through objects like cups, coffee pots and plates historically while the more modern ceramic artists produce artwork that are more decorative in nature.

In certain circumstances, artists would create a whole series or sets of tableware which basically encompass a certain character. There are instances when ceramic art is also regarded as fine art while under other circumstances, they are considered to be decorative objects and even sculptures. Basically, the difference between ceramic and sculpture art is in its technique. The former requires the artist to be well versed in the making of such items while the latter is more ‘open’ to different types of medium. Ceramic artists are very much known for their skills in pottery while sculptors are required to know other skills like welding and such.

The association of pottery with ceramic is obvious as it comes from the word ‘Keramikos’ which is the Greek word for pottery. Ceramic artists work with clay all throughout their career and they deal very much with the shaping of these wares before implying their message onto them. The natural process of ceramic art is to first create their own objects like teapots or cups and then the design on the outer layer is applied. Artists would usually impose their own design or some would even draw a landscape over them. One interesting fact about ceramic art is that this art form exists in almost every culture ranging from Greek to South American, African to Asia and very prominently in Chinese culture where paintings were enshrined on bowls and cups.

The main difference in ceramic art among the different cultures would be the method that was used to produce the objects although clay is often the main medium. Modern ceramic artists are very much inclined to using clay in their art work where they no longer are confined to producing tableware but have moved on to other objects as well. Umi Baizurah Mahir is one of the most prominent ceramic artists in Malaysia where she has a long history of producing this body of work. Her work with this 3-dimensional art form has been exemplary and she is widely regarded as one of the experts of her field. Umi’s work has been very much sought after as they are highly decorative and she adopts a fine art approach in her work. In her Genii series, she created a series of animals sitting in similar positions in different personas and characteristics.

Landscape art
The area of landscape art is perhaps one of the most widely adopted art form because it is considered to be a very natural art process. Landscape art is basically the painting of sceneries that involved natural elements which include the likes of valleys, plantations, forests, rivers, mountains and many others. The idea behind landscape art is to paint a photographic scene where the composition is very well balanced where the artist’s skills and techniques are exuded.

The painting of landscapes is inducted into many school curriculums which makes this art form one of the most naturally adopted methods among artists. It is in the realistic representation of these sceneries that artists are able to capture their essence and the details of the artwork. Landscape art is one of the oldest art forms where it has been involved in both the western and eastern cultures and this can be seen in the old masters’ work as well as in Chinese paintings. This means that landscape art has been around for more than a thousand years and is still very much going on strong.

To a large extent, landscape paintings are very much closely associated with photography although landscape art is more confined to the painting of natural elements while photography is more open to others. This art form got its name from the word ‘landschap’ which is a Dutch work which means a patch of cultivated ground and was then incepted into the English Language to be a term to refer to a type of art.

Historically, landscape art came about after the term was used as the earlier art form did not involve so much landscape. Then, the use of natural elements and objects were mainly for backdrop purposes where images of mountains and trees were used to complement and enhance the subject matter. Chinese paintings were known as one of the earliest art form that used full landscapes where the artists were involved in the painting of sceneries with mountains, trees and streams. Among the great masters who had been involved in landscape Among the great masters who had been involved in landscape art include the great Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Bartolomeo and many others and this art form remains as popular in present day.

Malaysian artists are very much in favour of painting landscapes because of the fact that the country is filled with natural attractions. Generally, many Malaysian artists who are involved in landscape paintings use oil and watercolour as they are known as the best mediums that allow for the adoption of strokes and its related techniques. While most of the artists usually paint a photographic scene of a specific landscape, some have also injected abstraction into their artwork. Under most circumstances, artists are able to paint the rustic scenes of Malaysian landscapes and this include the likes of Lim Weng Poh where he painted the ‘Semenyih Dam’ that exudes the calmness and the tranquillity of the landscape through the still waters of the image.